A/N: Hello! Here's chapter 10 of the story, enjoy!

Saturday, everybody's favorite day. No school, no worries, you can even hangout with friends! But who needs friends when you have Vita-chan and your PC? They're the best companion for the weekend!

Humans, even if given what they need, still aspire to annex more than given. It's the reason wars existed. The reason for an empire's rise to power, and it's not so gracious fall. It's also the reason for a person's unhappiness.

Right now, I am one of those 'unhappy' people. Even the comfort of a warm, pleasant saturday is not enough to ease my mind about something or rather, someone.

Miura.

"Onii-chan! Would you like to go out with your beloved little sister? Maybe watch a movie or something?" Komachi barged to disturb my already disturbed thoughts. Well, what she suggested falls along the lines of distraction, and I think I can use some of that.

"Sure. Let's go." I answered her. This made her smile before nodding affirmatively. From the looks of it, I bet I earned a ton of Hachiman points there. Might as well follow her footsteps and get ready.

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"Yumiko, are you okay?" Yui asked me worriedly. It seems that I made her concerned about what I'm thinking. We can't let that happen now can we? So with the best smile I could give, I tried to reassure her that I'm okay.

"I'm fine Yui, I just have a lot on my mind right now, that's all!" When she heard that, she shouted 'aha!' like she just knew the answer to ending world hunger.

"I knew it, you're worried about the exams! It's fine Yumiko! As long as you've done your best to answer them, you're set!" Yui did her best to comfort me. Well, at least she tried, the mere fact of her trying is enough to push all my thoughts aside and focus on the task at hand.

To pick a nice dress, for Yui.

Strange, I remember coming with Hikio here. Him offering me not one, but two nice clothes to wear. He also complimented how I look on a wedding gown, and he said I can make it work even If I wear just a rucksack.

Sigh, my thoughts drifted back to him again. Ever since that incident, I can't even look at his eyes without being mesmerized, and that's why I avoided him for the rest of the week, and we're supposed to have study sessions for the whole exam week. Seriously, why him of all people!

Okay Miura, focus! Back to the task at hand! Go and pick a dress for Yui! After frustratingly shuffling the pile of clothes, I found a pink frilly dress that I think would be complimenting her hair and her face. Hmm, I better give this to her. "Yui, how about this..." I said as I walked towards where she is.

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"Onii-chan, quick the movie is starting!" Komachi pulled me as we made our way towards the Chiba Cinema Centre, or as I would like to call it, C3.

"What are we even watching!?" I asked my little sister.

"Magnificent, The Master of Evil!(1)" Komachi proudly answered. Hoh, so even Komachi watches western stuff huh? I guess she likes the story of the first one to watch it's sequel. You have fine taste, Imouto!

"Alright, grab some popcorns and let's meet at theater 3's doors." I instruct her as she salutes me like how a Cadette would a Drill Sargeant, before going to the line of people getting their own popped yellow monocots(2) and their choice of drinks.

I walked towards the ticket booth to quickly purchase tickets. Luckily for me, the people already bought theirs and now I'm the only one on queue.

In my opinion, there are two types of receptionists, the first one is the 'new to the job and gets startled easily.' The other one is 'Long enough to no just care about things anymore' person. Let's see who's manning the booth today.

"Hello, how can I help you?" Oh, it's the latter one. I quickly said that I want two tickets for the movie on theater 3. Nodding after hearing my request, the cashier punched the details and asked me the payment.

"Thanks, enjoy your movie." The cashier said after handing me the tickets. My walk towards the theater 3's door were uneventful, as it was near the ticket booth. Is Komachi already here? I bet she isn't here yet.

"Onii-chan, over here!" Komachi waved her hand proudly as she spoke. I quickly made my way towards her and grabbed the popcorn from her.

"Let's go watch that movie." I said as I open the doors.

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"Yumiko! I've enjoyed our shopping trip together, thanks a lot!" Yui said as we walked towards Chiba Park. "Yumiko... Is something bothering you?" I guess she noticed my uneasiness.

"It's about what I asked you last study session." That got her attention.

"The one you asked me after Hikki left?!"

"Yes." I said softly.

"Let's go find a place to sit!" Yui grabbed my hand and dragged me towards and empty bench we found. It's amazing to see considering Yui has many bags on her hands.

Once we sat down, Yui started to talk. "You know Yumiko, I wasn't kidding when I told you all those things."

"I know you're not." I answered her. Yui then looked up to the sky.

"Sometimes, I wish that I'm a bird. You wanna know why Yumiko?" To which I nodded in agreement. "It's because they're free to do what they want. To fly to wherever they want. I want to be like them." Yui said as she turned her attention to the flying birds on the tangerine sky.

A bird huh? To be free to do what it wants. No problem or care about what others say. To be able to stick to his roots and stay the same. Doesn't it sound like Hikio?

Hikio? Why did I think about him again?

But in all honesty, that's what I envy about him. He's free from the shackles that we are in. To be able to say whatever he wants and be completely honest about it. I envy that, because for me, he embodies the ideal friend to have.

I like that.

So, with the birds flying away from where we are, we continued to talk about mundane things.

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"Onii-chan, did you enjoy the movie?" My beloved little sister asked.

"It's not bad... How about you, did you enjoy it?" Using the tactic of question reversal, I fired the question back to her.

"I enjoyed it! Especially when the main character was reborn from her ashes, I didn't know that they hailed from phoenixes!" She exclaimed. The movie did its best to distract me from my thoughts, as I found the film to be enjoyable at the very least.

Walking with my little sister towards the station, she requested to stop by the nearest park from where we are, which is the Chiba Park. We walked for a good amount of time before finding a seat.

"Komachi." I said as I looked up the sky, which is painted by the orange hue. Then I saw a flock of birds, circling near our place.

"Yes Onii-chan?"

"What do you think about birds?" This prompted her to look up as well. She stayed silent for a while before speaking up.

"Well, I think birds are one of the creatures that are truly free. They can go wherever they please, and no one cares about them since they're mostly on the skies."

"Do you want to be a bird?" I asked her.

"Of course! To be able to fly and defy the gravity would be nice!" She responds happily. Didn't she know that birds have a higher rate of dying in the air while flying? Of the olden times, people used to hunt birds by shooting them. Although it wasn't as popular as before, people who hunt birds still exists. I decided to tell it to Komachi.

"And what, get shot by hunters?" Sorry to ruin your dream Komachi.

"Don't worry Onii-chan, I'll be agile enough to dodge bullets and I'll bring a dog with me!" A dog? What use is a dog for a bird?

"Why bring a dog?" This I asked my little sister.

"So the dog will tease them when they can't hit me! Like in the game!" Curse that 8-bit game with difficult to hit birds and a dog that adds salt to your psychological wounds(3). I heard Komachi exhale deeply after laughing. "But seriously Onii-chan, don't you wanna be a bird?"

"Yeah, it's nice to be one." I answered her. My thoughts then shifted back to the flying bipedal creatures. Like Komachi said, they're free to go to wherever they want. Strange, why does it remind me of someone who is very honest?

Why does it remind me of her?

Having rested enough, Komachi stood up signaling that we need to go home. "Onii-chan, let's go home!"

"Go on first, I'll be buying groceries for our dinner." Komachi looked downtrodden with what I said. Still, she bid me farewell and said that I shouldn't take long. No given the liberty to take a stroll by myself, that's what I did.

Chiba Park's size is about four football fields lined up, dotted with lush greenery and tall trees. Saying that Chiba Park is small would be a crime against all Chiba.

But right now, that's the word I'll associate it. Not because I've already circled it, but because I've bumped to a person I know.

More specifically, someone I try to avoid at all times.

"Oh, Hikigaya!?"

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"Hey Yumiko, isn't that Hayato? And she's with..." Yui stopped before confirming the identity of said companion. "Yukinon's sister!?" I remembered that Yukinoshita's sister called me Hayato's girl repellant, I still don't understand why. Yui shouted his name and waved her hands towards the pair.

"Ara, if it isn't Gahama-chan and, your repellant!" For some reason, my eyebrow twitched at what she said. Why does she call me that?

"No need to call her that." Hayato smiled nervously, trying his best to make us get along. "So what are you guys doing out here?" He asked us.

"Well, Yumiko and I shopped earlier! It's so fun!" Yui replied. "How about you guys?"

"Well, our families were hosting a dinner, we just took a stroll before heading out. Do you guys want to come?" Yukinoshita's sister invited.

"Really!? That's like hitting two stones with one bird! Can we come?" Yui quipped with a wrongly worded saying.

"You've said it wrong Yui, it should be two birds with one stone." Hayato corrected her.

"Really? I thought I said it correctly. I'm sure I said two birds with one stone." Yui laughed awkwardly, causing us to laugh too.

"So, please excuse us since we're going to be late." Yukinoshita's sister then walked

"See you next time Yukinoshita-san!" Yui bid farewell.

"See you at school Yumiko." Hayato said before following his companion. Strange, He used to be the one on my mind, but now, that wasn't the case.

"Yeah, see you there." I replied, even if he wasn't there to hear it. "Come Yui, let's go home." Yui and I walked towards home.

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"O-orimoto." The mention of her name brought back memories I did not want to remember.

"S-so, what brings you to Chiba Park?" Why is she stuttering like a grade schooler?

"I'm with my little sister earlier. I've sent her home since I don't want her to come with me on the grocery." I answered.

"I see." She laughed awkwardly again. "Well, do you want me to come with you? You could use some help." What is she saying? Did she hit her head somewhere and got concussion?

"Ugh... You don't need to, I'm fine by my own." I answered as I started walking. Just as I thought that she would be gone and leave at once, she didn't.

For she walked by my side and stayed.

If the middle school me would see me now, he'd be ecstatic, and will be jumping over the moon. But Hikigaya Hachiman of the present, who have suffered hardships, and raised his walls even higher, knows more.

Hikigaya Hachiman knows not to trust nice girls.

Even if we've talked about it, there's no way that wounds created by the olden times would be healed that quickly.

"So... What are you planning to cook for dinner?"

"Maybe curry, or something like that." I answered. We strolled around the grocery to buy what I needed, carefully selecting the finest ingredients for my beloved little sister to enjoy.

"Hikigaya." I heard her call out to me.

"What?"

"It's all in the past right?" She sounded unsure and a bit squeamish. Is she talking about the incident back in middle school? I guess that's really in the past. Wait, we already talked about this, why is she bringing it up again?

"As I said, whatever happened, happened. There's no need to cry over spilt milk." I paused to look at her. A look of relief was plastered on her face. "Let's go and pay for this things." I walked towards the cashier and she immediately followed.

After paying for the groceries, we parted ways with Orimoto saying that I should try to contact her, something that I think would not happen in the foreseeable future.

Reaching my beloved home, I was greeted by my little sister, who is more than happy to see me.

"Onii-chan, what took you so long?" She asked.

"Well, on my way to pick up groceries, I met someone I know."

"Is it Yukino-san or Yui-san?" She said before adding another person. "Or is it Yumiko-san?"

"It's Orimoto." At the mention of her name, Komachi's face turned sour.

"What? What did she say to you?!" Come on Komachi, I like the fact that you're concerned about me, but no need to ask such questions.

"Don't worry Komachi, there's nothing she said that I couldn't handle." I answered her as I prepared the ingredients for curry. Chopping carrots, potatoes, and mincing the beef I'm going to use. Komachi left me alone once she knew that I wouldn't answer anymore questions.

After eating dinner, I decided to take a shower to entertain my thoughts. All of which revolved around a certain blonde.

Emotions are hard to understand, since they don't make sense and they vary for every people. So I vowed to set aside emotions and focus on the logical side of things, which earned me the nickname "The Monster of Logic." But why, this time, I wanted to understand the emotions that is currently occupying me?

This foreign feeling, the feeling of strong admiration towards her. The feeling of longing and wishing to see her again. The attraction to her smile, her pout. Hell, even her scowl looks absolutely cute.

I've tried to understand it, I really did. I once swore that I'll never deal with these matters again, even going as far as building walls to defend myself.

But she changed that.

She slowly climbed, knowing that the wall will be high. And sure enough, she wormed her way to my heart.

Maybe the one thing I can't understand is the same thing Hiratsuka-sensei said towards me.

Maybe the reason I can't understand it is because I don't need to.

Maybe I should just go with the flow and see where this takes me.

But wouldn't that violate my philosophy? To be unchanging and to stay the same?

No, change is a sign of development. To change is to grow up. Maybe, it's what I need to understand that not all things needed to be understood. That sometimes, things just need to happen.

And so, after wracking my brain, after countless hours of introspection, after a lot of reflection, I, the Monster of Logic, Soubu's ultimate loner, Hikigaya Hachiman came into a conclusion. A conclusion that surely opposes my philosophy.

I conclude that what these feelings are, is love.

Heh, it's been a long time since I've uttered that words. The sense of unfamiliarity wraps around my tongue after saying it.

With my mind made up, I decided to head out of the shower, with the intent to formulate a plan.

A plan to confess, which I call "Operation Confession."

(Miura Yumiko's Journal, 7th Edition, Page 127)

Diary-chan,

This day is very tiring, first up, Yui and I went to Shope for some clothes, which is the same store Hikio and I went. I also saw the guy who gave me his number, asking why I wasn't texting him. I just scratched my head saying that I misplaced his number. That was a very tiring encounter.

Now I sound like him. Look at what you're doing to me Hikio, you're really affecting me.

After that encounter, Yui and I went to the arcade. It was fun, but I guess it would be better if all of us were there.

After spending some time on the arcade, Yui and I then met Hayato and Yukinoshita's sister.

The nerve of that woman to call me Hayato's girl repellant. I mean, I'm not right? Still, I used to be fond of Hayato, just hearing him talk is enough to make me feel giddy. But now, I don't feel anything like that.

I wonder if Hikio feels the same?

That's it for today Diary-chan, I feel very tired.

(1) It's Maleficent, the Mistress of Evil. I dunno why I chose this one, maybe because it's the last movie I've watched? I guess that's the reason.

(2) Corns are Monocots, which means they only have a single leaf before flowering.

(3) Duck Hunt, the shooting game with an annoying dog taunting you.

A/N: Sup guys! Here's the latest chapter of the story. I should've finished this a week earlier but surprise surprise, exams! So this chapter got held back.

Still, here we are! Tenth Chapter! I originally planned to only have eight chapters, each one signifying what happened every week with Hachiman and Yumiko. But alas, here we are!

Hold on to your seats, since we're nearing the end!

Ugh... the only reason that those dots exist, well, because I figured that using line breaks will literaaly break the flow of story, and that not using anything at all will make the readers confused. So I settled for using dots as transitions. Sorry if it made you confused or something.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Leave a review if you have something to say! Until next chapter!

-Jasserru used an invisibility potion!